Medium-pace bowler Nuwan Thushara has reclaimed a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) contract, one of 46 men named for the 2026-27 cycle, after ending a brief legal stand-off with the board.
In April Thushara went to court over SLC’s insistence that he pass a fitness test before receiving a No-Objection Certificate for overseas franchise work. He dropped the case soon after the previous board was removed by the sports ministry, telling the new administrators he was “fully available for national duty”. The Transformation Committee has taken him at his word and placed him back on the central list.
An SLC statement said simply: “Players have been graded into six categories for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.” As has become the norm, the board did not publish the pay bands attached to each group.
New faces and notable omissions
Eight players pick up a central deal for the first time: Jaffna leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Ratnayake, batters Kamil Mishara and Lasith Croospulle, plus all-rounders Isitha Wijesundara, Wanuja Sahan and Dilum Sudeera. Each has impressed on the domestic circuit; Viyaskanth’s 26 first-class wickets at 18 apiece last season were particularly hard to ignore.
There is no contract for Bhanuka Rajapaksa. Although the left-hander re-entered domestic cricket earlier this year, selectors have moved on for now, preferring those who have featured regularly across formats.
Otherwise the list is largely predictable. Test specialists such as Dinesh Chandimal and Kasun Rajitha sit alongside limited-overs regulars Binura Fernando and Maheesh Theekshana. Dasun Shanaka, still nursing an ankle niggle, keeps his deal, indicating he remains in white-ball plans even if competition for the all-rounder slot has intensified.
Balancing act for selectors
Sri Lanka’s men played 14 Tests, 19 ODIs and 28 T20Is across the last contract year, a punishing schedule that forced rotation. The wider pool—46 centrally paid, plus match-fee players—gives coaches more flexibility, though head selector Upul Tharanga admitted last month the churn can hurt continuity: “You want stability, but you also need fresh legs every second series.” He wasn’t speaking about this contract list in particular, yet the point applies.
Fitness remains a sticking point. Several players, privately at least, felt the previous board’s protocols were inconsistent. Thushara’s brief rebellion brought that into the open, and insiders say the new committee will review both testing procedures and the NOC process ahead of the next franchise window. For now the quick bowler is back in the fold; whether he can translate that reprieve into regular appearances will depend on form and, yes, those same fitness standards.
Full list of men’s contracted players
Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Niroshan Dickwella, Jeffrey Vandersay, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Eshan Malinga, Milan Rathnayake, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Sonal Dinusha, Sahan Arachchige, Pramod Madushan, Lasith Croospulle, Lahiru Udara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Isitha Wijesundara, Nishan Madushka, Akila Dananjaya, Chamika Karunaratne, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Mohammed Shiraz, Wanuja Sahan, Dilum Sudeera, Tharindu Ratnayake.
The contracts kick in immediately. Next assignment for the men’s team is two home Tests against Afghanistan in late June, and it would be no surprise if at least one of the new faces turns up in that squad.
